The Elusive Snitch
by OriginalAlcy
Summary: It has been a terrible week for Fin – the rest of her Quidditch team blame her for a recent loss, she received the first 'D' of her life & then there's the trifling matter of Voldemort's rise to power. Fin couldn't care less about any of it – there's only one thing she wants…(Harry Potter-verse, OCs)


A/N: This fic was originally written for a challenge at another site. Reposting it here in case it appeals to others. Just a little girl/girl one-shot. I think it has great potential for a longer fic, but unfortunately I don't know when I will get the time to flesh it out. Set in the early 80s, during Voldemort's first rise to power.

* * *

**The Elusive Snitch**

If someone were to mention 'the luck o' the Irish' to Fionnoula Maguire then she would have immediately scowled and let lose another Irish stereotype – a bad temper. Not that Fin normally had much of a temper. In fact, with her mousey brown hair, dark eyes and quiet temperament, she was decidedly un-Irish in almost every way. However, on this particular day she was feeling a little more Irish as she marched through the corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry soaking wet and very angry. She left a wet trail behind her from dripping Quidditch robes and her broom as she dragged it along the floor.

"Of all the flaming nerve," she growled in her Irish brogue. "Bunch of tossers."

When she glanced over her shoulder she was both relieved and disappointed not to see the rest of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team behind her. Although she had deliberately chosen the long route back to Ravenclaw Tower, a part of her had hoped that at least one of her teammates would follow in an attempt to apologise. No matter how many times she looked over her shoulder, there was no one following her.

Fin sighed – what had started out as a perfectly routine Quidditch practice had quickly disintegrated into a ' discussion' of their disastrous loss to Gryffindor the previous weekend. Fin supposed she ought to have conceded that she was partly to blame for calling Todd Gormsby and Miranda Scott the most inept Beaters she had even seen – even if it was the truth. She had only resorted to such a measure after the rest of the team blamed the entire loss on her for failing to catch the Golden Snitch. In response, Fin had helpfully pointed out that Ravenclaw would have lost even if she had caught the stupid Snitch. From that point Quidditch practise turned into a free-for-all. In retaliation for being called inept, Gormsby didn't even bother trying to stop a Bludger from smashing into the tail of her Cleansweep Five and rendering it virtually useless.

Fin eventually stopped walking and sat heavily on a nearby bench. She was in no hurry whatsoever to return to the Ravenclaw common-room. Instead, she stared out the window at the dark sky. With the storm clouds hanging over Hogwarts, the afternoon seemed like evening already. It was as though the weather perfectly reflected her mood.

She turned her attention to the mangled tail of her broom. The Cleansweep clearly needed some serious work and she hated the thought of asking her parents for money just for a broom. One thing was for sure, she'd never catch the Snitch on a school broom.

"What a mess," Fin whispered.

She wasn't merely referring to the broken broom. All in all, it had been a very bad week. With half of Ravenclaw blaming her for the lost Quidditch match, Fin had effectively become the house pariah. She was so worked up about everything that she had received the first ever 'D' of her life on her Charms essay even though she knew Protean Charms inside and out. Fin supposed it ought to have scared her that she didn't really care about letting her marks slip or being a pariah. However, even scarier still was the fact that Fin couldn't even summon up the mental space to care about the reign of one of the most even wizards in all of wizarding history. Lord Voldemort – a figure so terrifying that most wizards could only refer to him as 'You-Know-Who' – was a hairsbreadth away from toppling the Ministry of Magic. All the students and teachers at Hogwarts walked as though they were treading on eggshells. The only glue that held the school together was the comforting presence of Albus Dumbledore as Headmaster. Still, they all waited for baited breath for their world to fall apart.

Fin didn't care – her world had already fallen apart. One dark wizard couldn't possibly make her feel more miserable and alone than she already felt. She was terrified, but it had nothing to do with Lord Voldemort, Quidditch or even her terrible Charms essay. It was something…someone else altogether.

Just as she was considering curling up on the hard stone bench as a form of self-punishment, Finn suddenly heard a sound. She recognised it instantly because it was so familiar. It was pain.

Then she heard it again – a desperate cry for help somewhere further down the corridor. Leaving her broken broom lying on the ground, Finn set off at a run in the direction of the cries. As she drew closer, she slowed to a brisk, cautious walk. Her leather boots hardly made a sound on the stone.

With slightly clammy fingers, Fin drew her wand out from beneath her robes. She winced slightly at the preposterous notion of her actually being able to use it if needed. She'd never Hexed or Jinxed anyone outside of a classroom – but she did feel a little braver just holding it.

_You're being ridiculous – Seventh Years shouldn't have to be afraid of anything within the walls of Hogwarts. Not stupid housemates, or mediocre Charms assignments._ Finn rounded the corner and her eyes widened when she saw what was going on. _Or a bunch of Slytherin thugs bullying little kids!_

Fin had to make herself angry at the scene unfolding in front of her. She had to be angry or she would simply run in the opposite direction - all the way back to her dormitory - instead of facing the four Slytherins.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Fin demanded – somewhat pleased that her voice came out without a single quaver.

"I should think it quite obvious," the nearest Slytherin boy replied haughtily, and not at all concerned about being discovered. "Just a spot of fun."

Fin knew the boy and the other three Slytherins as they were all unfortunately in her year. The boy who spoke was Rodney Thackeray – a tall, raven haired youth with deep brown eyes. He was from a very old, pure-blood family, and never let anyone forget it. Of course he was the Captain and Seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch team...as well as a prefect. Perfection wrapped up in one arrogant package. In the two years that Fin had been on the Ravenclaw team, she had never managed to catch the Snitch while playing against Thackeray.

Even though he had spoken to her, he didn't take his eyes away from the target of his 'fun' – a terrified Gryffindor boy who was hanging upside down in mid-air. He was little more than first or second year, as was the other victim – a girl who looked to have fainted. Her head dangled limply and her skirt was up around her chest as she hung upside down.

"I would run along if I were you, Maguire," Marian Walcott cackled. She waved her wand and made the Gryffindor girl bounce up and down in a sickening manner. "Unless you want to join these two?"

Fin had absolutely no desire to be dangled upside down in such a humiliating fashion...and that was precisely why she couldn't just walk away and leave the Gryffindor kids to their torment. She looked past Thackerey and Walcott to the two Slytherin bystanders. One was a tall, thin boy named Edwards who was one of the Beaters on the Slytherin team. From the number of Bludgers he had smashed in her direction over the years, she knew he had a mean streak. When her gaze shifted to the fourth Slytherin, she almost lost her composure completely. Her wand almost dropped to her side as she saw Ava Rosier – elegant and blonde. She stood so casually, as if she shared none of the emotions that were racing through Fin's own mind. After a few more moments of gormless staring, Finn surprised herself by collecting her scattered wits enough to speak.

"Let the kids go," Fin insisted in a voice that had lost some of its confidence. "I think you've scared them enough."

For what felt like an awful eternity, Fin stared Thackeray down. She had to fight to keep her gaze from drifting back to Ava Rosier. Finally, with a defiant expression on his face, Thackerey lowered the boy to the ground and let him drop when he was a few inches above the stone. Although he fell heavily, he quickly scrambled to his feet. Walcott groaned and followed suit, letting the girl down as well – although with far less care. She snapped out of her faint when she hit the ground and sat bolt upright. Her bottom lip started quivering as soon as she saw it hadn't all just been a bad dream.

"Run back to your common-room," Fin said as kindly as she could in the circumstances. "Go!"

The two kids didn't need to be told twice. The boy helped the girl up onto her unsteady legs and they sprinted down the corridor without a glance back. Fin watched them go enviously – running away was all she now felt like doing as her anger failed her. She tried to adopt a relaxed posture as she faced the four Slytherins.

"I meant to thank you for helping Slytherin's chances of winning the Quidditch Cup this year," Edwards moved forward to stand beside Thackeray and Walcott. "It was just stunning to watch you miss the Snitch when it was sitting right in front of your face!"

He laughed loudly and the other two quickly joined in. Fin didn't know whether to be pleased or not that Ava just stood behind them, looking as though she wanted to be somewhere else. However the indifferent, bored expression on her face soon left Fin feeling just as hurt as if she had joined in the laughter.

"I'm surprised they haven't kicked you off the team," Thackeray added.

"Don't be ridiculous," Marian Walcott said. "Ravenclaws don't kick people off – they probably sat down and worked out that the statistical probability of Maguire being able to catch the Snitch outweighed her complete lack of talent."

Fin desperately wished a witty retort would form in her head, but the Slytherins were essentially right. Ravenclaw didn't have another Seeker who was good enough to be on the house team – so Fin was it. However the last match of the season would be against Slytherin and already the thought of having to fly against Thackeray was making her sick to the stomach.

"Why don't you all crawl back to your dungeon?" Fin said in a quiet voice – unable to even inject a little scorn into her tone.

"I've got a better idea, Mudblood!" Edwards said the foul word as thought it was a caress. He grinned maliciously. "How about we give you a little taste of what you're in for when the Dark Lord takes his rightful place as Minister for Magic?"

Fin felt her blood run cold and the anger returned. She had told herself so many times throughout her years at Hogwarts that she didn't deserve to be treated less just because her parents were Muggles.

"That murderer will never be Minister for Magic," Fin growled in a low voice. "And anyone who thinks he will is nothing more than scum."

What happened next, unfolded in slow motion. Fin saw Thackeray's mouth tighten in anger and his wand lift slightly. While she was still trying to work herself up to the point where she could use magic in anger – even on a foul git like Thackeray – he was moving. Fin responded a split second later, but she was already too late.

The stunning spell slammed into her chest before her own wand had even completed the movement. All the air was knocked out of her lungs as she was propelled backwards into a set of decorative armour. With an almighty clatter, Fin and armour scattered about on the stone. In her dazed fog, she heard Marian Walcott berating Thackeray for being so loud. Then Ava finally spoke. She said that someone was bound to have heard the noise. With some amount of reluctance in his voice, Thackeray agreed. Seconds later, a relieved Fin heard footsteps retreating down the corridor. She would have breathed a sigh of relief except for the fact that she could hardly breathe.

It was sometime before she could even contemplate untangling herself from the bits of Sir-Whatever-his-name-was. She was still struggling to free herself when an outstretched hand was suddenly thrust into her face. Fin found herself staring up at the face of Ava Rosier and – unless she was quite mistaken – she wore an expression of concern.

"Honestly, Fin," she said in a weary voice. "Have you completely lost your mind? You're quite possibly the worst duellist I've ever seen and you try and take on four people?"

"Well I wasn't really thinking," Fin mumbled.

The back of her head was throbbing painfully. When she reached around, she felt an egg-sized lump had already formed. Ava was still holding out a hand to help her up. Fin eyed it suspiciously, as though it were covered in poison. Which Ava was trying to help her to her feet? Was it the Ava who moments earlier had been taking part in the torture of little kids, or was it the Ava who –

Ava's impatient sigh interrupted Fin's thoughts. She reached down and seized the front of her robes. Showing surprising strength, she dragged Fin back onto her feet and answered her unspoken question. Almost fiercely, Ava pressed her lips against Fin's in a desperate kiss. A small sigh of longing escaped her lips as she drew Fin close.

For those few moments, as Ava's hand trailed up to gently cup her cheek, Fin allowed herself to melt into the kiss. She quickly forgot about the giant lump on the back of her head and how it had got there.

When Ava reluctantly drew away, there was a small smile on her face. "Merlin's Beard, I've missed that."

At the sound of Ava's wistful tone, Fin felt her anger return in a heartbeat. With strength of her own, she shoved Ava backwards hard enough to send her stumbling backwards several steps.

"You ended this, remember?" Or have you already forgotten telling me that you couldn't possibly be in love with a girl let alone a disgusting Mudblood? Did you forget saying that on the morning of my match against Gryffindor? Do you think I couldn't see the bloody Snitch for some reason other than the fact that I couldn't stop bawling my eyes out?"

As if to punctuate her words, Fin kicked out at the helmet lying at her feet and sent it flying several metres away. It bounced off the wall and eventually clattered to a stop. She couldn't bring herself to look back to Ava. Instead Fin turned her back on the Slytherin girl and stalked away in the opposite direction.

"Don't just walk away like that!" Ava called after her.

Fin heard Ava's footsteps following her, and a few moments later she felt the anticipated touch on her arm. Although a small part of her felt like angrily yanking her arm away, the much larger part that craved Ava's touch allowed herself to be stopped.

"Fin, you said you understood!" Ava protested.

"Of course I said I did – isn't that exactly what you wanted me to say?"

"Well..." Ava was slightly taken aback. "Yes, but not if it was a lie."

Fin sighed in resignation. When she meet Ava's gaze, she immediately felt tears burning in her own eyes. Frustrated at her inability to simply be in the other girl's presence without breaking down, Fin angrily dashed her hand across her face in an effort to keep the tears at bay.

Her voice took on a hard, bitter edge. "I understand all too well. It's too difficult for you to be with me."

For the first time, Ava looked genuinely hurt. "Didn't all those months of sneaking around - only managing to snatch tiny moments when we could be alone – tell you that this is too difficult? For Merlin's sake, Fin, we couldn't even hold hands in the corridor!"

Fin laughed bitterly. "There's more to it than simply not being able to hold hands."

"It sums everything up though, we're girls for starters and I'm most definitely not a...lesbian," Ava whispered the last word as though it was difficult for her simply to say it. "Then there's the fact that you're a..."

"You can say it, I've long since given up caring," Fin said stubbornly.

"A Muggleborn." Ava chose the polite term over the foul 'Mudblood.' "And my father..."

"Is a Death Eater," Fin finished quietly.

"My father is a Death Eater," Ava repeated – as though it was a truth she was finally accepting.

It was a secret of the utmost discretion between the two of them. It was the type of secret that bound them together by its very nature – even when they were apart. Of course Evan Rosier had not told his only daughter outright of his position as one of Voldemort's most trusted followers, but as the Dark Lord's power grew it became less and less necessary to keep it a secret. Eventually it just became fact in the Rosier household. It also gave Ava a certain status within Slytherin – and with that came an appearance to maintain. It would all have come crashing down in an instant had anyone learned of her relationship with a Mudblood. Ava's shoulders sagged for a moment and she looked completely defeated. However, a few moments later, she squared them defiantly, but she still looked unhappy.

"I'm scared, Fin. Aren't you?" Ava asked in a whisper.

"Yes - but not for the same reasons as you," Fin said as she tilted her head to one side – caught between nodding and shaking her head. "I don't care about the fact that you're a girl...and I'm angry that someone like Voldemort is using his influence to prey on the weak minded...but I'm not scared of him." Fin couldn't stop a wry smile from creeping onto her face as she stared at Ava. While it was still difficult to look at her, the blonde girl was simply breathtaking and she found herself unable to look anywhere else. "I'm scared of spending the rest of my life without you."

Ava smiled briefly, sadly. "You'll find someone else, Fin."

"No matter who I'm with, I'll always feel alone," Fin replied stubbornly. "Every bone in my body, every thought in my head...they're all telling me to run away from you as fast as I can...but my heart says otherwise. I love you...despite everything, despite the stupid world we live in, I love you."

"We're seventeen," Ava protested half-heartedly. She made a slight shuffle backwards, away from Fin. "Neither of us knows how we feel."

"Will you still be telling yourself that next year? In ten years time?"

Ava looked uncertainly towards the ceiling and then back to Fin. "I don't know..."

Feeling surprisingly confident, Fin took a step forward so she was almost standing on Ava's toes. Ignoring the fact that her fingers were trembling slightly, she reached up to cup Ava's cheeks in her hands. She smiled when Ava closed her eyes and leaned into the touch.

Ava then turned her head so she could gently kiss Fin's fingers. "I love you too."

They kissed again – just the merest brushing of lips at first. That brief touch was enough to send tingles down Fin's spine. As she tentatively intensified the kiss - probing Ava's response – the blonde surprised her by almost pushing her backwards as she eagerly deepened the kiss. For a few brief moments, their tongues met in a heated, desperate exchange of their desire for one another. Moments later, it was all ripped apart when Ava dragged herself out of Fin's embrace.

"I can't do this, Fin," Ava said as tears welled in her eyes. "I love you...but I can't do this. Not now, not ever."

The last thing Fin wanted was for Ava to walk away and yet she just let her go. When the blonde Slytherin stepped away from her, all she felt was cold and wet. With just one last glance, Ava turned and started walking away. When she disappeared around a corner, Fin was left standing alone in the corridor.

It was another half an hour later before Fin reappeared in the Ravenclaw common-room looking thoroughly bedraggled, with her broken Cleansweep in tow. She wanted to be able to slip quietly through to her dormitory but unfortunately Anna Wilson, the Ravenclaw Quidditch Captain, saw her first. The short, wiry little Chaser was nervously wringing her hands together even before she spoke.

"Look, Fin...everyone...the whole team, we all want to apologise for that awful mess at training. We were seriously out of line." Wilson smiled apologetically. "You're a terrific Seeker, you know that right?"

It should have cheered her up, but Fin was at the point where she didn't really care that there was even a game called Quidditch. Ava had turned her back on her for the second time that week, and with such a finality that Fin had lost any hope. All she wanted to do was crawl into her four-poster and draw the curtains shut.

"Thanks," Fin said politely – even though she actually felt like telling Wilson to shove a Quaffle in her mouth.

"And if your broom can't be fixed, I've got a Comet two-forty that you can use – it was a hand-me-down from my brother before I got my new one...but it flies pretty well."

Fin just nodded and managed a tight-lipped smile that probably emerged as more of a grimace. She pushed past Wilson and made a beeline for the door. Several other students said hello as she made her way through the common-room, but she barely nodded in greeting to each of them. Once she was safely up the stares and away from the dozens of pairs of eyes she felt staring at her, she was finally able to let her shoulders sag. The tears quickly returned. Seconds later, footsteps further up the stairs jolted her upright and she sniffed them away again. She looked up just in time to see Chelsea Bernard, another Seventh year, running down the stairs.

"Hello, Fin," the bouncy redhead said far too brightly. "Say, you look awful – long day?"

"Yeah," Fin whispered. "I'm just on my way to bed."

"Good idea...and hey, cheer up. It was only one 'D'...everyone gets one at some point, even us Ravenclaws," Chelsea said, referring to Fin's Charms assignment.

Fin should have felt embarrassed that others knew about her failing the assignment, but she just nodded and let Chelsea continue on her way. Unfortunately for Fin, she was denied even the small luxury of being able to sob loudly in her bed as she walked in on three of her roommates having an animated discussion. All she could do was draw the hangings and use her pillow to muffle any sound as best she could.

* * *

Fin had forgotten just how much she enjoyed the atmosphere of the changing rooms in the time leading up to a Quidditch match. It was everything – from the anxiety she felt to the smell of well-oiled leather. She tested the lacings on her arm guards and found them snug and tight. In fact, everything was perfect but she double and triple checked it all just in case.

"Hey Fin...err, you're going to be on your game today, right?"

Fin looked up to see Anna Wilson staring down at her with a hopeful expression on her face. With a bright grin in response, Fin nodded once. The sun was shining, there was hardly any wind – it was a perfect day for flying. The entire team had been training with excessive, almost single-minded, determination for the final match of the year. If they managed to defeat Slytherin by two hundred points or more, then they would win the Quidditch Cup.

With no small amount of relief, Fin had thrown herself into training. Things were definitely starting to look up. The rest of the team acted as though the defeat to Gryffindor had never happened, Wilson's Comet-Two-Forty was actually better than her broken Cleansweep, and Fin had never felt more optimistic about a match against Slytherin. She was also at the point where she could walk past a certain blonde Slytherin and act as though she wasn't even there.

It was only when the teams lined up against one another that a few of her nerves and doubts returned. Predictably both Thackeray and Edwards singled her out from the rest of her teammates for particularly vicious taunting but Fin just stared straight ahead towards the pitch. They could only call her a 'Mudblood' so many times before it became boring.

When the teams finally received the signal to mount their brooms, Fin was the first one to launch off and soar out into the stadium. In her focused state of mind, it was easy to let the cheers of the Ravenclaws drown at the boos of the Slytherins.

"Annnnd playing Seeker for Ravenclaw, Fin Maguire!" The announcement boomed around the ground.

With a grin, Fin performed a clever feint right in front of the Ravenclaw crowd and they responded with an even louder cheer.

_Who needs stupid girls when you have adoring fans?_ Fin thought happily as she positioned herself opposite Thackeray for the beginning of the match.

Madam Windheart released the impatient Bludgers and tiny Golden Snitch. Fin watched the cheeky little glint of gold flash in front of her eyes and dart away before the Quaffle was tossed to the waiting mêlée of Chasers. She lost sight of it when she had to dart to one side to avoid one of the Slytherin Chasers flying straight into her.

Even though Fin was flying above the game in search for the Snitch, she could tell that it was being played at a frenetic pace. The Slytherin Chasers were nowhere near as good as the Ravenclaw trio but their Beaters more than made up for it by playing with no sense of sportsmanship whatsoever. Edwards and his fellow Beater, Woodridge, not only smashed Bludgers in the direction of her and her teammates, but also engaged in blatant obstruction with their brooms as well. Although Madam Windheart blew her whistle for a few infringements, the Slytherins were experts at sneaky fouls.

While Fin was supposed to be looking for the Snitch, she had to keep one eye constantly on the rest of the game. Already Edwards had nearly succeeded in shouldering her straight into the stands and her right hand was almost totally numb after a Bludger collided with it. As she flexed the fingers of her hands to check they all still worked properly, she glanced towards the scoreboard – Ravenclaw were already leading eighty points to twenty. The Ravenclaw and Slytherin supporters were both in full voice. As she flew past the Ravenclaw section again, she caught a glimpse of a small but distinctive blonde haired figure sitting slightly off to one side. Fin almost fell off her broom. While the fact that Ava was watching was not unexpected, what on earth was she doing sitting with the Ravenclaws instead of her own house? Fin had to force her gaze away when she realised that she was paying no attention to the game. The last thing she wanted was to miss the Snitch because of Ava Rosier for a second time. Still, it was Ava and wherever she was concerned Fin couldn't trust herself to behave rationally. When she risked another glance, it became clear that Ava wasn't even trying to watch the game – she was only watching Fin. The Ravenclaws then roared as another goal was scored but Fin couldn't drag her eyes away from the blonde girl staring back at her.

It was then that she saw a tiny flash of gold. The Snitch was hovering by the hoardings directly in front of where Ava was sitting. Fin blinked a couple of times to make sure she wasn't imaging it, but the Snitch was definitely there. Thackeray was sweeping back and forth at the other end of the pitch. Almost casually, Fin rolled to her right. She knew the Slytherin Seeker would be watching her intently, so she acted as though she was still searching. However when the Snitch suddenly darted downwards she was forced to accelerate. As the glint of gold dived, she followed. Instinctively she knew that Thackeray was onto her, but she didn't dare glance back over her shoulder. Fin was focused entirely on the tiny Golden Snitch. The Snitch loomed larger and larger in her vision until it was right in front of her. She reached out and plucked it out of the air with precision before pulling out of her dive scant metres above the ground. Only a few moments later Madam Windheart blew her whistle to signal the end of he match. Fin was still flying along near the ground when she felt something shove her forward. As the tip of her broom ploughed into the earth, she caught a glance of Thackeray's back as he swept past her. As her broom stopped abruptly, she fell forward and her face planted into the dirt. While most of the crowd was booing at his underhanded move after the final whistle, Fin forced herself to scramble quickly to her feet to show she was alright. She held the Snitch aloft in a gesture of victory. Her smile broadened when she saw Thackeray turn his head to look at her.

Moments later she was engulfed by the jubilant Ravenclaw team. Anna Wilson was babbling incoherently but Fin thought she heard that they had won by two-hundred and twenty points, more than enough to claim the Quidditch Cup for Ravenclaw.

Fin wasn't allowed any breathing space until the team were out of the stadium and walking back towards the castle. The crowd around her thinned and she saw Ava Rosier standing a short distance down the path – waiting for her. It was only then that Fin realised she hadn't just been sitting with the Ravenclaws, she was wearing a blue t-shirt with a large bronze 'R' glittering on the front.

Despite the romantic image of running straight to Ava and kissing her soundly being stuck in her head, Fin approached cautiously. She had dreamt about a similar moment so many times that it didn't seem possible that this was actually real. Fin had to resist the urge to whack herself soundly over the head with the tip of her broom.

As she drew closer everything became slightly more difficult - even looking Ava in the eyes after so many weeks of ignoring her. Ava seemed different as well – as perfect as always, but different. She wore simple jeans and the blue t-shirt, her hair was loose and scruffy around her face. Not elegant but still just as gorgeous.

Fin finally stopped and said the first thing that popped into her head. "Did you run out of clothes to wear?"

Ava absently looked down at her t-shirt as though she had only just realised what she was wearing. She tugged at the hem slightly and shook her head. "No...I bewitched a Slytherin t-shirt last night," she replied quietly.

"The blue suits you," Fin quipped.

As throngs of students passed them on their way to the castle, Fin and Ava remained silent for half a minute. Both took to staring at their feet with quick darting glances towards one another. Fin eventually sighed, she was going to have to do something soon and the only two options she could think of were kissing her or walking away.

"Ava -" she began.

"Just shut up for a moment, Fin," Ava interrupted quickly. "I'm trying to say something important here."

Fin's eyebrows lifted, but she just nodded and sealed her lips shut. She waited for Ava to say whatever was on her mind, but it took her another minute to actually make a sound.

"I know I've put you through hell for the past month...and it hurts to think that I did that to someone like you..." Ava's voice trailed off. She swallowed awkwardly and when she opened her mouth to continue, nothing came out. She stared at her feet and dug her toe into the ground repeatedly.

"Someone as nice as me you mean?" Fin prodded helpfully.

Ava lifted her head and met Fin's gaze. "Someone I love."

Fin's mouth opened in shock. The part of her that dared to hope started clapping for joy. She squeezed the little Snitch tightly in her fist as though it gave her an anchor to the real world in case it was just a dream.

"I was wrong...I do know how I feel, and I'm scared about spending the rest of my life without you too," Ava said, looking nervously at the other students that were overhearing their conversation. "Those other things still scare me...but I realised I don't care about them. Can you forgive me for being such a coward, Fin?"

"Yes," Fin croaked.

With a grin of relief, Ava crossed the short distance that separated them and threw her arms around Fin. When Fin heard the soft, musical sound of her laughter in her ear, she responded with a laugh of her own. Both of them completely forgot – or ignored – where they were standing when they sought out each other's lips in a gentle, loving kiss. With her eyes closed, Fin let herself get caught up in the dream. Fin remembered the taste of Ava's lips intimately, and yet she responded with a hunger that surprised her. She explored every curve with enthusiasm and their tongues met briefly – sending shivers of further longing down her body.

Even when the kiss ended a few moments later, Ava was in no hurry to disentangle herself from Fin's embrace. She remained standing close, her forehead resting on Fin's shoulder. Fin opened her eyes and saw her Ravenclaw teammates all staring at her with expressions of shock on their faces. They were frozen still until Wilson prodded them to life and led the way back to the castle. Fin thought she saw the short girl wink in her direction as she turned away.

"There are people staring at us right?" Ava asked – a slight trace of uncertainty in her tone.

"Err...yes." Fin could see them – there were dozens of others besides her teammates. All were pretending not to stare of course, but they weren't walking back to the castle as quickly as they normally would. Most found an excuse to linger and pretend to talk to friends, but in actual fact they were watching the drama unfold in what was sure to be the topic on everyone's lips for the rest of the week...if not the month. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be," Ava gently disentangled herself from Fin's arms and stood at arm's length. She didn't look around, instead she stared back at Fin with a determined expression on her face. "To hell with all of them, I don't care anymore."

"But your housemates...your parents..." Fin whispered, a small trace of horror creeping into her voice when she allowed herself to acknowledge the full ramifications of what Ava had just done. Given the times in which they lived it went further than a case of disapproving friends and parents – it was dangerous.

Ava tilted her chin up – her eyes flashed defiantly. "Like I said, I don't care."

Fin couldn't resist kissing her again. "You should have been in Gryffindor you know."

"Gryffindor...Slytherin...what does it all matter in the end?" Ava replied when she pulled back. She grazed her nose against Fin's. "It seems like your entire world while you're here at Hogwarts, but out there in the real world, it's the people that you choose to surround yourself with that will matter the most," Ava said fiercely. "And I choose you, Fionnoula Maguire."

Fin grinned. "Then I consider myself well and truly chosen."

She held Ava close for a few moments longer. The scent of Ava's hair and skin washed over her until it felt as though they would be imprinted on her senses forever – and she hoped that they would.

Eventually, they started walking back to the castle – although this time it was hand in hand. Fin turned to look at Ava out of the corner of her eye. Despite the overwhelming happiness she felt, there was a tiny fear at the back of her mind. It was a fear of the future, of what might happen to them both because of Ava's choice. She quickly bottled it up and forced it into the very recesses of her mind.

For now it was just the present. Fin finally realised that she was still holding something tightly in her fist. She looked down at it as they walked. It sat limply in her hand – the elusive Snitch – well and truly caught


End file.
